Gilbert Weiss Libri

This volume brings together Eric Voegelin's three significant works: Political Religions, The New Science of Politics, and Science, Politics, and Gnosticism. Political Religions, published in 1938, marked Voegelin's emigration from Austria, while The New Science of Politics, written in 1952, solidified his reputation in American political philosophy. Science, Politics, and Gnosticism, presented as his Inaugural Lecture in 1958 at the University of Munich, introduced him to the West German intellectual community. Despite being written during different historical periods, all three works analyze modern Western civilization's loss of spiritual foundations and the challenges posed by various ideologies. Voegelin critiques a "modernity without restraint," characterized by Hegelian, Marxian, Nietzschean, and other German influences. He contrasts this with the Western meaning derived from ancient Greece, Rome, Israel, and Christianity, evolving through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and Anglo-American political thought. This collection examines the intellectual and spiritual complexities of modernity, tracing its development from ancient civilizations to the twentieth century. In a substantial new introduction, Manfred Henningsen discusses the experiential background that shaped Voegelin's analyses and highlights the renewed relevance of his work following the collapse of state socialism in Eastern Europe. This volume is a signifi